A burglary safe is built with one goal in mind--to protect your cash and other valuables from theft. Safe and Vault Store has burglary safe models for businesses and households that need to keep valuables safe. Before you buy a safe, you should consider several important factors.

Fire or Theft?

When people think of safes, they usually think of burglary protection, but you're statistically more likely to experience a damaging fire than theft. A burglary safe offers little protection against fire. Fire Safes have thin steel walls surrounding fire resistant material and pose no challenge at all to a safe cracker. It's important to determine which threat poses the most danger to your possessions or your business, and choose a safe accordingly. Decide to opt for more protection? See our Burglar Fire Safe options.

Manufacturer Safe Ratings

As far as we're concerned, a safe without a burglar rating is a glorified box with a lock on it. Burglar ratings may be unofficial industry standards or standardized certifications issued by third-party bodies.

A manufacturer will usually assign a safe model a letter grade of B, B/C or C. A B rating usually indicates a safe with a 1/4-inch body and a 1/2-inch door, although some manufacturers give safes with 1/8-inch bodies a B rating. A C rating usually indicates a 1/2-inch body with a 1-inch door, while B/C ratings are assigned to safes falling between the two categories.

UL Ratings

While manufacturer ratings may be accurate, it's important to remember that no tests are given to verify the rating. To be sure your safe provides the security you want; we recommend that you select safes certified by Underwriters Laboratories, which puts safes through a vigorous certification process. It's said the best safe crackers in the world never commit a crime--they work for UL testing the durability and security of safes. Look for UL ratings of TL-15 or TL-30.

Choosing a Burglary Safe

Know what you plan to store before you start safe shopping. The dimensions of your valuables will determine, in part, the safe's dimensions. There's no point in buying a safe too big for your needs, although you might want to budget for the need to store additional items in the future. If you need some help choosing the best safe for your valuables, give our experts a call at 1-800-207-2259. They are happy to help you make the best decision.

Here are some burglar safe buying tips on choosing the best burglar safe to keep your belongings protected from burglars.